Social media is a blurred, confusing world that started off fun but is increasingly just a cost-effective way of generating internet content, links and page views for many companies; a medium where success is measured as a return on investment, like any other marketing medium.

Witness the latest, very successful, recycled Best Job In The World campaign from Tourism Australia. Nowhere else do travel organisations get such bang for their buck. Or such little public resistance for what in other mediums would be known as "Cash for Comment".

Latest cab off this crowded rank is Exodus Travels and the Navigate Media Group. They have announced an arrangement where four of Navigate's "team of digital marketing experts" will take an Exodus trip and promote it.

Navigate spokesperson and blogger Lisa Lubin says the idea is to drive "traffic to their trip giveaway contest, creating a buzz on social media channels of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest and ultimately raising awareness of their brand to a new audience around the world."

For these services Ms Lubin says: "We are not taking payment from Exodus,  we are being hosted by them."

However, Navigate members normally charge for their expertise.

"In most cases, we do charge a project management fee as we do not consider our work ‘press trips' or ‘blog trips', it is more of a marketing partnership that goes above and beyond press/blog coverage with unique initiatives and digital marketing strategies. "

So it's like advertising, advertorial, pay for comment or whatever?

"No, this is not advertising, it's marketing," she explained.

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